Automatic transmission



Oct. 1951 w. E. LCONEY 2,569,685

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Filed April 7, 1948 s Sheets-Shqet 1 L I ll If v v I r\ I V 'II I. I. lIll lllH IN VEN TOR.

IVIL L IAN E. LOONEY Arron/41's Oct. 2, 1951 w. E. LOONEY AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Filed April 7, 1 948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. WILLIAM E. LOONE Y wwwj ATTORNEYS.

1951, w. E. LOONEY 2,569,685

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Filed April 7, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet s i \ililil" 22 J JE 5 4 {CJE 4 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM E. LOOIVEY ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 2, 1951 PATENT OFFICE agroluarrro TRANSMISSION I William E. li'ooney, Detroit, Mich. were and t 1948, eri l P- use present s elates to tease treesmiseieas nte ded .sree iie llv .fe eni mtive vehi les but arplieeble else 129 Pin lu 'es Ameee Qh e 9;: the. tw nties. mere-j vide a fully automatic transmission in the ew o dr vin newer is rnieier eiit i th tiren tiesi tee t e l we t9 12 h ghe s eeds to lvine e. flui d ive ii d me it is me e e e e the; sas fluid elem nts I ,I

s l et er ieete esd eclventeees will be e12- parent to those skilled in the art upon referenoa o e ll w e r ptio th sewers??- ing draw-ingsinwhich I v Fig. l is an exterior view of the transmission. Fi Z e vertical entreile situ i el seletional view of the device. a v

Fig. 3 is a section on iine 3- 3 of 1g. g I Fig. i is a section or; line 471-] of Fig; i. o e 5 is, en nd v ew i em he ri ht e; Fist-h l; with. P il i etism, an she fvi s t e ban le trolsf I n the drawings, the transmission is indioated as made u of three ele nents the fluid drive n A. th f r d and rev r e d i e unit et rotatable. d the stat ne y satire; eerr ing unit C, the latter being mounted upon a suitable stationary part of the frame D, and the retatable portions enoloseci in a suitablo overall Ml housing (not shown) Referring more particu arly to Fig. et seq, the unit A is shown in section and compri es a casing I I] attached in driven relation to a 1 .91 0; (not shown).

The casing is made up of two parts MA and IO-B bolted together with the flange [2A of an intermediate member I2 e-Ia nped therebetween, Suitable gaskets being used to provide an oiltight joint.

The part IDA carries the fees I I and is axially bored and carries an anti-friction bearing IIA serving to pilot the end of shaft I 3. Theo the? portion IOB extends axially for a short distance and is rotatable upon a portion of the uriit B I Mounted within easing II! andireely rotatable on shaft IS, on the antifriction bearing I4, is a varied driving element I5, this being fixed to a bevel gear Hi surrounding shaft I3. Carried within the axial extension of part Insane fixed thereto as by screws I06 is as pider I-I ea rrying a plurality of bevel gears IIA meshing with gear IB.

Also meshing' with "gear HA is anetherbevel w e msi (01. 74 -731 s I fi ed on haft a by e lser Hand having its bearing in an extension I!) of the casing Q im B- Ui n he er u ee i t extension is piloted the axially extended portion oi part IDB of easing ill, a, suitable barrier i013. of oil resistant resilient material bei g 1. 6 1 to prevent oil leakage at this point. Also mounted within casing I0 is a var ed driven member I21! keyed to shaft I3, While between the driving and driven varied members I5 and IZI] is the inter, mediate i ed r n I 2 fi ed to the casin IQ i the manner already described.

he mem e C n is s of a pl te ha in a r l: atively sm l bub p tiqn I5A. u eund by a portion curved on 'a. rather large radius from a center I BE looated in the eenter plane of the hub pe tien nd th ed nerti n, a pl ality or radial vanes I5C extending axially These vanes. are of an ar a som what less than the s m cirole, being cut away to permit the use of the ring I2 The driven member I if!) is of similar ee 'e ru ien Wt a es. 420A of subs antiall the, area of vanes l 50.

Th in e e at member I? Consists of an n er rin e ry ns he ens IZ'A end an in r '23 ha in rad al arra e v n s I2 ei bet' eene nner r 2. 3 s r ferab ouryed as shown on a small radius struck from center I515: so a to offer little interference to liq; nidiiow.

When the parts I2. I 5 and I2!) are in assembled relation, a cross sectional view shows them as a substantially complete piroular assembly.

As stated above, the hub of gear I8 extends into the axial ext nsion I 9 of the casing for unit B.

' This eesi e 2!! s shown as cons i f an en plat 205, carrying the extension I51, a cylindrical ma n Pp 9B d an end closure 2 1C. e shaft I3 extends into the casing 20 and has coaxial wi g ar L8 a simi ar bevel gear 2 I, the two i gears being fixed together and to the shaft by a lgey or keys ZIA.

This gear 2! meshes with the bevel gears 22 carried on a spider 23 and these in turn with a bevel ea 24 fixed. to the fla 2 m d the terminal shait 25. Surrounding shaft 25 and flange 24A is the closure p te 20C for the .casing 20. 'This plate has a cylindrical sleeve portion 491. er ng as a bea n for the shaft 25 w i portion is mounted in the anti-friction bearing 20E carri d in th t ti r uni C. This p at is also recessed as at 20;? to receive the flange 214 the recess being somewhat largerin diaineter than the flange to provide an oil passage as later r cfibdr V It should be noted that the gear 24 is fixed to the flanged end of shaft 25 and is freely rotatable about shaft I3, the end of the latter being piloted in the gear-shaft assembly.

The casing 20 at this end is provided with an inwardly extending flange 26 to which the plate 20C is fixed. And the edge of this flange is toothed, as at 26A, to provide one member of a dog clutch, the other member being teeth formed on the gear 24.

As stated above, the gears 22 and 22A are carried by a spider 23. This spider 23 is anchored indirectly to casing 20 through helical teeth 23A meshing with other teeth formed on suitable blocks 23B fixed to the interior periphery of the casing 20 (see Figs. 2, 4)

The unit C comprises a stationary housing 30 fixed to a suitable frame member D, and provided on its inner periphery with helical splines 30A. Coacting with the splines 30A i a splined ring 3013 in which is mounted the bearing E for the sleeve 20D. These splines are helically arranged and at a suitable point about the periphery of ring 303 mesh with a helical gear 3I keyed upon a shaft 32 mounted in the upper portion of the housing 30. Also fixed to shaft 32 is a segment 33 having an opening 33A therein, which opening is adapted to receive the end of a plunger 34. Also keyed to shaft 32 is a short lever 35 in the form of a sector. Alongside of the lever 35 is a second longer lever 35A freely rotatable about the shaft 32 and carrying spaced abutments 36 adapted to determine the movement of lever 35 which is located between said abutments.

Suitable means for manual operation of lever 35A and for maintaining it in adjusted position will be provided but are not shown.

The terminal shaft will extend through a suitable housing 3'! and carry the conventional worm and worm gear 38 for speedometer operation and a suitable flange member 40 fixed to the power take-off end of the shaft.

shaft 25 and flange 40) stationary, application of torque to casing I 0 rotates the latter and, since the gear I8 is still, causes the vaned member I5 to turn at twice the speed of casing I0, while the intermediate member I2 of course rotates at casing speed. Both members move relatively to the vaned member I20.

When the torque on member I20 due to the ac tion of the vanes on the fluid increases to the point where the member I 20 begins to'overcome load resistance, the shaft I3 begins to rotate and to transmit the motion through gears I8 and 2|, spider 23. and clu ch 26A to ear 24 and shaft 25. So far, the operation of the device has been described as for transmission of torque to shaft 25.

If it i desired to idle the motor, operation of lever A will cau e the movement of the ring 303 in unit C to the right (Fig. 2) and to carry with it sleeve 20D and casing 20 so as to release clutch 26A. This allows the casing 20, to turn freely about the gear 24. H

Reverse drive is obtained by, disconnecting clutch 26A in the manner described and applying a suitable brake 50 (see Fig. 1 to the casing 20 of unit B.

During the ordinary operation of the transmission when applied to an automobile, the clutch 26A will engage and disenagge automatically from time to time due to acceleration and deceleration. Therefore, because it is desired sometimes to maintain the clutch in constant engagement or in constant disengagement. the lever 33 may be provided with two receiving holes 33A for plunger 34 and the solenoid 34A ener ized by means of a suitable switch conveniently placed to be accessible to the operator,

One of the main features of the present invention is the intermediate member I2; in the unit A. This member provides for a feed back In preparing the transmission for operation, a

suitable oil is put into the housing I0 through the opening IIO provided for this purpose and normally plugged. Further, oil is put into the units B and C throu'gh a suitable opening I30 at the top of the latter. Since it is desirable to provide for some oil expansion and possible escape of gases, a suitable reservoir or standpipe (not shown) should be fixed over the opening I30. When the oil is put in the latter, it flows from the housing 30 through passages I3I into the housing 3'! and through passage I25 in shaft 25 into the pilot bearing for shaft I3 and also through a passage I26 into recess 20F and from both the gearings and recess into the casing 20.

Further, the gears I8 and 2| may be internally grooved to provide for passage of oil between casings I0 and 20.

In connection with the operation of the device as about to be described, it should be noted that the helical teeth 23A, 26A and 30A are all so inclined that when the load resistance is such that torque is being transmitted from the motor fixed to face I I, the several parts tend to move into the positions shown in Fig. 2.

This means that when the reverse flow of power occurs, that is, when the load decreases and tries to operate the motor, the parts automatically move to disconnect the motor and load by moving the casing 20 to the right (Fig. 2) and disconnecting the dog clutch 26A.

With this in mind, and assuming the load. 6...

of kinetic energy to the driving member I0 from the vaned member I5 and this increases the eiflciency of the unit, particularly during the starting up time and until the member I20 reaches substantially the rotative speed of the casing lll.

I claim:

1. In an automatic transmission a fluid drive coupling having a power take-01f shaft extendv ing therefrom. a rotatable casing through which said shaft extends, a bevel gear differential in said casing and having its spider rotatable with said casing, a sun gear keyed to said shaft adiacent said coupling, a second sun gear rotatable about said shaft and provided with pilot means for the end of said shaft, a load shaft extension fixed to said second sun gear. clutch means between said second gear and said ca ing, means for engaging said clutch means with flow of power from said coupling toward said load shaft andv fordis ngaging said clutch means-upon reversal of said power flow, and manual means for controlling said a ement and d s n a em nt.

2. In an automatic transmission a fluid drive' coupling having a power take-off shaft extending therefrom, a rotatable casing through which said shaft extends, said casing being also mov able longitudinally, a bevel gear differential in said casing and having its spider rotatable with said casing, a sun gear keyed to said shaft adiacent said coupling, a second-sun gear rotatable about said shaft and provided with pilot meansfor the end of said shaft, a load shaft extension fixed to said second sun gear, clutch means between said second gear and said casing, and comprising interengaging teeth ,on said. casing and second gear; and means for causing longitudinal said engagement and disengagement, said manual means consisting of a stationary casing provided in its inner periphery with helical splines, an extension on said rotary casing projectin into said stationary casing and carrying a ring rotatable upon said extension and provided with splines adapted to coact with the splines in said stationary casing, manually operable means for partially rotating said ring relative to the stationary casing and means for preventing relative longitudinal movement of said ring and extension.

WILLIAM E. LOONEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,007,281 Grutzner Oct. 31, 1911 1,271,079 Radcliffe July 2, 1918 2,005,444 Weiss June 18 1935 2,055,895 Fawcett Sept. 29, 1936 2,118,464 Fitzhugh May 24, 1938 2,395,636 Mettert Feb. 26, 1946 

